A Nazi Christmas Party: Rare Pictures From Life.com (PHOTOS)

The images are chilling, bordering on surreal: as World War II raged on December 18, 1941, Adolf Hitler presided over a Christmas party in Munich, Germany.

The photos that have been preserved are in color no less, and contain all sorts of Nazi symbols mixed with traditional decor like ornaments and tinsel dangling from a giant Tannenbaum and festive candles. The images were taken by one of Hitler's personal photographers Hugo Jaeger.

Have a look at some of the incredible images below. You can find the full gallery at LIFE.com.

Photos courtesy of LIFE.com.

Comments

[JohnBryansFontaine]

04:45 AM on 12/29/2010

Another Nazi Christmas image :

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/56256334/Hulton-Archive

[JohnBryansFontaine]

08:33 AM on 12/29/2010

PS Goebbels is posing next to Santa, not Odin

[mamacat]

05:30 PM on 12/28/2010

The photos and other records of that time might, just might, help us to remember how easily we humans can be tempted into embracing fascism, and other forms of dictatorship.
The people in these photos were human, just like all of us. Any of us, and all of us, under the wrong conditions, are capable of the worst kinds of behavior.

[Leo Bloom]

08:57 PM on 12/28/2010

"Any of us, and all of us, under the wrong conditions­, are capable of the worst kinds of behavior. "
Yes, all of us are capable.
But some choose to participate in it-- see the pics above.
And some choose to fight it-- See German Resistance movement.

[gakabani]

04:58 PM on 12/28/2010

This article has been hanging for many days for some specific reason that it is not clear to me.

[Leo Bloom]

06:39 PM on 12/28/2010

how is this any of your business.

[Kid Notorious]

02:52 PM on 12/28/2010

Ain't no party like a Nazi party!

[FTracy3]

12:57 PM on 12/28/2010

It looks like it's already late and they're all dreading the impending white elephant gift exchange.

[Leo Bloom]

10:03 AM on 12/28/2010

Actually Nazi attempt to modify Christmas into Winter Solstice celebration is exactly what politically correct liberals are also trying to achieve.

[mamacat]

05:32 PM on 12/28/2010

Very funny. Now go away and play in the sand box with the other children. Try to behave.

[Leo Bloom]

08:59 PM on 12/28/2010

Above I posted a fact.
It doesn't cease to exist solely because you choose to ignore it.

[EverthingThatRises]

01:31 AM on 12/27/2010

Worst Christmas party EVER

[Anarchy4hire]

07:18 PM on 12/26/2010

surely realizing their looming disasterpiece in Russia, no doubt

[idelwind]

09:30 AM on 12/26/2010

Ah the joy of Christmas. You can just see it in their faces.

[darcdante]

03:10 AM on 12/26/2010

Huh, how interesting that the Daily Mail says things about these pictures that HuffPo leaves out.

"Hitler believed religion had no place in his 1,000-year Reich, so he replaced the Christian figure of Saint Nicholas with the Norse god Odin and urged Germans to celebrate the season as a holiday of the ‘winter solstice’, rather than Christmas."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1341272/Hitlers-Christmas-party-Rare-photographs-capture-leading-Nazis-celebrating-1941.html#ixzz19CfBhISH

[SaulBloodworth]

04:38 AM on 12/26/2010

Now you know where the propaganda "Nazis are not Christian" comes from.

Funnily, Gemans were told the exact same thing: Americans are not real Christians, why else would they bomb Christian churches.

[Leo Bloom]

09:01 PM on 12/28/2010

Not much different from those who claim that Islamofascists are not true Muslims.

[Butterfly M]

11:19 AM on 12/26/2010

Now read em and weep..that is if you have any honest bone in your body.

http://www.nobeliefs.com/mementoes.htm

[RAMstein]

10:11 AM on 01/05/2011

Nobeliefs.com is not a reliable source for interpretation of Nazi WW II emblems and insignia, as there is no serious accompanying analysis of their significance.
Of course they *used* Christian symbols. They also told the Jews on their way to Auschwitz that they were being resettled in the East - I suppose you still believe that too?

The fact is, they intended to eventually destroy Christianity. Read Bullock, A. (1962), Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, or SHARKEY, JOE “Word for Word/The Case Against the Nazis; How Hitler's Forces Planned To Destroy German Christianity”, New York Times, 13 January 2002 (http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/weekinreview/word-for-word-case-against-nazis-hitler-s-forces-planned-destroy-german.html?pagewanted=all)

btw, i am an atheist.....but an atheist who has studied WW II extensively for over 40 years, and one who insists upon historical accuracy.

[blueskybigstar]

02:30 AM on 12/26/2010

They obviously don't know how to party.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

01:40 AM on 12/26/2010

Some German infantry belt buckles read, "Gott und fuhrer." Today, we have the almost obligatory connection of fundamentalist Christianity and right wing rhetoric, expressed most publicly by Sarah Palin in one of her books.....

[Leo Bloom]

01:07 PM on 12/28/2010

Gott und Obama?

[NonPrawf]

10:16 PM on 12/25/2010

"Hey, Heinrich why didn't the German eat the beans?"
"I don't know."
"....because it would give him...GAS!"

[REASON2010]

05:54 PM on 12/27/2010

offensive.

[Leo Bloom]

10:00 AM on 12/28/2010

Funny is never offensive. But this is not funny.

[SuperMoncho]

09:55 PM on 12/25/2010

They are dreaming of a red Xmas. So glad they lost the war.

[trouble4]

02:20 PM on 12/25/2010

Interesting pictures. I guess I've never thought about the Nazi's celebrating Christmas.''